What are the key factors to consider when buying a house in California?
The following are the key factors to consider when buying a house in California.
As you may have heard, "location, location, location" is the secret sauce in real estate, especially when it's time to sell your home. To maximize the property's appreciation value, a big part of it depends on whether it is located in a desirable neighborhood. The second key factor is the floor plan.
As I have always told my clients, two things you cannot change are where the house is located and what the floor plan is. Here is an analogy about location: You cannot pick up and move the prettiest house to a different neighborhood. So, make sure you love the neighborhood and its surroundings and then make the house pretty after you move in. Let's talk about the floor plan. If having an open space as you walk in where you can see all the way to the back of the house is non-negotiable to you, you wouldn't want to look at a house that has a wall separating the living room from the kitchen as you walk in. It makes sense, right?
In real estate, most things are fixable and improvable. You can make many cosmetic improvements to the home, such as new paint, new flooring, new windows and remodeling the bathrooms and kitchen. However, it would be quite costly to change the layout and floor plan of the house.
What common mistakes do home buyers make when trying to purchase a property in California, and how can they avoid these pitfalls?
We have found that the common mistake home buyers make when trying to purchase a property in California is not knowing about the area, they want to buy in. I have always recommended to my buyer clients to drive through the area with their family on the weekends and on Friday and Saturday evenings. Your real estate agent can show you any homes you wish to see that are available on the market. However, the buyers are the only ones who can determine if the neighborhood feels like a fit for them.
Home buying is one of the biggest investments in most families’ lifetimes. Why would you not take the extra time to do your own due diligence?
